Harlequin:For Chinese, the square words are made up from 部首 (the key or radical by which a character is arranged)人，木，心，日，月, 口，手 etc...The traditional way of learning Chinese is to learn all these 部首 first. They are usually on the left side of a Chinese square word, but also can be formed on top or bottom of the right side, or in the middle.To learn Chinese in a easier and fun way is to teach the kids all the 部首 first, those are the base \"words'... Unfortunately, nowadays we learn Chinese by the \"phonic\", that's the Han-Yi-pin-yin way... so the kids must know how to pronounce the Chinese word first, before they can even use a dictionary. To me, it's 本末倒置。I sincerely think that all kids should start with learning the 部首. There is no point to memorize the 笔划 of the word itself, until one knows how and why it is formed.If parents are keen, please get a 部首编排法 booklet for your children's leisure learning, explain to them how the way it works, and the Chinese's 象形文字 formation is interesting to the children, e.g., how the 月 looks like the word itself etc.When all the 部首 is learned, the child will have no problem handling 听写 by herself. No need the hard memorizing about where is the 点，横， 竖，钩, or missing a stroke here and there...Sigh.I am thinking of teaching my children the 部首.But is it necessary to memorise the name of the 部首?For example, 钅is pronounced as jin. I am afraid my child might get confuse with the actual word 金. Any suggestion?